Utility of magnetoencephalography combined with stereo-electroencephalography in resective epilepsy surgery: A 2-year follow-up

PURPOSE: Precise and accurate implantation of stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) electrodes is critical for the localization of the seizure onset zone (SOZ), which plays a leading role in the prognosis of resective epilepsy surgery. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a noninvasive technique which can delineate the epilepsy focus by visualizing interictal spikes into dipole clusters. MEG may provide supporting information for guiding SEEG electrode implantation and improve the long-term outcomes of epilepsy surgery. In this study, we evaluated the accuracy of MEG in determining the SOZ. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients with refractory epilepsy who underwent MEG examination and SEEG implantation before resective epilepsy surgery in the Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. The SEEG plan was designed according to the dipole clusters and the resections were operated according to the SEEG recordings. We investigated the relationships of the pattern of MEG dipole clusters and SEEG sampling to the final resective surgery prognosis. RESULTS: =4.835, odds ratio=5.00, 95% CI=1.12-22.30). Complete sampling of MEG dipole clusters by SEEG electrodes was found in 23 (54%) patients, who had higher probability of seizure-free outcome that those with incomplete sampling (p<0.001, odds ratio=16.67, 95% CI=3.11-89.28). MEG results showing a single, tight cluster or stable orientation were associated to better seizure outcomes after resective surgery. CONCLUSION: MEG dipole cluster helps SEEG implantation in localizing the SOZ for better long-term epilepsy surgery outcome. The MEG results can play a role as prognostic predictors of epilepsy surgery.